📈 Key Metrics for the Month (March 2026)

Portfolio Return: -3.02% (for the month)
Total Portfolio Value: $19,956.88 CAD
Monthly Change: -$622.15 CAD
YTD 2026 Return: -1.95%
Total Invested Since Start: $14,355 CAD (no change)
Realized Profit: +$5,601.88 CAD
ROI Since Start: +39.02%

Quick Overview

March 2026 became a month of high volatility and market correction. The portfolio finished with a loss of -3.02% (-$622.15 CAD), wiping out all January and February gains.

Main Reasons for Decline:

1. US/Israel war with Iran continued – conflict dragged on for 5+ weeks
2. Oil reached $108/barrel (Brent) – highest level in years
3. Nasdaq and Dow fell into correction – decline >10% from peaks
4. S&P 500 on edge of correction – only 9% from correction level
5. Inflation returned – OECD forecasts 4.2% instead of 2.8%

Despite market falls, I:

• ✅ Sold Venture Global (+68% profit) – locked in profit at peak of oil rally
• ✅ Bought 3 new positions – FITB, ETN, SOFI (diversification into financials)
• 💎 Received $6.27 CAD dividends – reinvested in LLY, UNH, META, NVDA, AEM
• 📉 Portfolio lost less than S&P 500 (-3% vs -7% S&P 500)
• 🏆 Gold continued growth – AEM +95%, OLA +75%

Key Events of the Month:

• 🌍 Iran war entered 5th week – Pentagon sent additional troops
• 🛢️ Oil Brent $108, WTI $94 – threat of Strait of Hormuz closure
• 📉 Nasdaq and Dow in correction – decline >10% from ATH
• 💰 Sold VG with +68% profit – 69 shares at $12 (bought at $7.14)
• 🆕 Three new positions – FITB (bank), ETN (industrial), SOFI (fintech)
• 💎 Dividends $6.27 CAD – from 5 companies

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🌍 What Happened to Markets in March: Iran Storm

March 2026 was a continuation of the crisis that began February 28 with the joint US-Israeli military operation against Iran.

🔥 Iran War: From Quick Victory to Protracted Conflict

What was expected:

In early March, markets hoped for quick conflict resolution. President Trump declared “imminent victory” and “regime overthrow.”

What actually happened:

The war dragged on. Iran proved more resilient than expected.

Key Events by Period:

Early Month (March 1-10):

• ✅ Small market rally on hopes of quick resolution
• 🛢️ Oil pulled back from peaks
• 📈 S&P 500 +2.9%, Nasdaq +3.8% (March 4)

Mid-Month (March 11-20):

• ❌ Pentagon announced deployment of thousands more Marines and 3 warships
• ❌ Bloomberg reported: Iran refuses to discuss Strait of Hormuz reopening
• ❌ Axios: White House considering occupation of Kharg Island (Iran’s oil hub)
• 📉 S&P 500 fell 7% from peak
• 📉 Nasdaq and Dow fell into correction (>10%)

End of Month (March 21-31):

• 🇦🇪 UAE attacked by Iranian drones and missiles
• 🇰🇷 South Korea – Kospi crashed 12% overnight
• 🛢️ Oil Brent reached $108/barrel, WTI $94/barrel
• ⛽ Gas in Los Angeles: $8.29/gallon
• ✅ End of month: markets bounced 2.9-3.8% on peace speculation

📊 Impact on US Economy

1. Inflation Returned

OECD sharply raised inflation forecast:

• Previous forecast: 2.8% for 2026
• New forecast: 4.2% for 2026
• Reason: High energy prices

2. Fed Cut Rate Cut Plans

March FOMC meeting:

• Rates remained at 5.25-5.50%
• Dot-plot shows only one 25bp cut in 2026
• CME FedWatch: Market expects no cuts in 2026

Fed Chair Jerome Powell:

“Implications of Middle East developments for US economy are uncertain. Forecast is we’ll make progress on inflation, not as much as hoped, but some progress.”

3. Labor Market Under Pressure

• Initial jobless claims: 205,000 (declined)
• Unemployment: 4.4% (expected stable)
• But: AI and high inflation create employment risks

📉 Technical Analysis: All Indices in Trouble

Nasdaq Composite:

• Fell into correction (>10% from peak)
• Close: 21,408 (March 26)
• Daily drop: -2.38%

Dow Jones:

• Fell into correction
• Close: 45,960 (March 26) – lowest in 2026
• Fell below 200-day moving average

S&P 500:

• On edge of correction: -9% from ATH
• Close: 6,477 (March 26) – lowest in 4 months
• Fell below 200-day moving average

VIX (Fear Index):

• March average: 24-26 (normal: 12-15)
• High volatility expected

🛢️ Energy Shock

Oil:

• Brent: $108.01/barrel (+5.66% in a day, March 26)
• WTI: $94.48/barrel (+4.61% in a day)
• Reason: Threat of Strait of Hormuz closure (20% of world oil)

Gas:

• Los Angeles: $8.29/gallon
• National average: ~$4+/gallon

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent:

“Over time, US will retake control of straits, and there will be freedom of navigation. Global oil market is in deficit about 10-12 million barrels a day, and we’re making up for that deficit.”

President Trump (March 22):

“Oil prices haven’t gone up as much as I thought, to be honest. Everything will go back to where it was, and probably lower.”

Markets didn’t believe. Oil continued rising.

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🔄 March Sales and Purchases: Portfolio Rotation

In March, I made one significant rotation: sold energy at peak and redistributed capital into financials and industrials.

❌ What I Sold: Venture Global – Perfect Timing

Sold: 69 shares Venture Global (VG) at $12.00 USD

Bought at: $7.14 USD (January 2026)
Profit: +68.07% (+$334.34 USD)
Held: 2 months
Total sale: $828 USD

Why I Sold:

1. Perfect Timing:

Venture Global shot up +35.99% in February and continued rising in March thanks to Iran war and oil crisis.

I tracked the situation and realized:

• Oil at peak $108
• Market in panic
• VG at historical highs $12+

This was the perfect moment to lock in profit.

2. Geopolitical Risk:

If war ends faster than expected:

• Oil could fall 30-50%
• VG would fall with it
• +68% profit could turn into +20-30%

3. Diversification:

VG was ~3.3% of portfolio. This was a concentrated bet on energy.

I decided to redistribute capital into more stable sectors (financials, industrials).

4. “Buy the Rumor, Sell the News” Strategy:

Iran war = rumors of energy crisis.
VG rose on these rumors.
When facts became obvious (oil $108), I sold.

Was This a Mistake?

Potentially yes, if:

• War continues for months
• Oil goes to $150-200
• VG doubles/triples

But I think no:

• Locked in +68% in 2 months – fantastic result
• Capital redistributed to less volatile assets
• Can return to VG if oil falls

Lesson: Don’t need to aim for “perfect” sale. +68% is excellent.

✅ What I Bought: 3 New Positions

Freed capital (~$828 USD) redistributed into 3 new companies:

1. 🏦 FITB (Fifth Third Bancorp) – 6 shares at $44.92 USD

Total Investment: $269.54 USD
Current Value: $282.42 USD
Current Return: +4.78%
Portfolio Share: ~1.41% (RRSP)

Investment Thesis:

Fifth Third Bancorp is a regional US bank headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Why bank now?

1. High interest rates = higher bank profits
2. Undervalued sector (P/E ~10-11)
3. Dividends (~4% yield)
4. Quality balance sheet

Risks: Recession, commercial real estate pressure, fintech competition

Strategy:

Expecting quick sale, hopefully no more than three months. Though war may adjust plans. Banks are cyclical. When Fed cuts rates and economy recovers, FITB could shoot up.

2. ⚙️ ETN (Eaton Corporation) – 1 share at $356.51 USD

Total Investment: $356.51 USD
Current Value: $362.50 USD
Current Return: +1.68%
Portfolio Share: ~1.82% (RRSP)

Investment Thesis:

Eaton Corporation is an industrial company producing:

• Electrical equipment
• Hydraulics and pneumatics
• Energy-efficient solutions
• Data center equipment

Why Eaton?

1. AI Infrastructure: Data centers need massive power
2. Electrification: EV charging stations
3. Business Diversification: Not dependent on one sector
4. Financial Stability: P/E ~25-30, stable growth

Strategy:

Short-term speculation, hoping for quick sale. Eaton is a bet on electrification and AI infrastructure.

3. 💳 SOFI (SoFi Technologies) – 10 shares at $17.10 USD

Total Investment: $171.00 USD
Current Value: $162.90 USD
Current Return: -4.73%
Portfolio Share: ~0.82% (RRSP)

Investment Thesis:

SoFi Technologies is a fintech company providing:

• Student loans (refinancing)
• Personal loans
• Mortgages
• Investment services
• Bank accounts

Why SoFi?

1. Banking license (2022): Can accept deposits
2. User growth: Members growing 30%+ annually
3. Revenue diversification
4. Tech approach to finance

Risks (HIGH):

• Company still unprofitable
• High competition
• Economic cycle dependency
• Regulatory risks

Strategy:

Haven’t decided yet. Could be short-term speculation or long-term investment. Will see how it goes.

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💎 March Dividends: $6.27 CAD

Received dividends from 5 companies in March. All dividends automatically reinvested (DRIP).

1. LLY (Eli Lilly) – $0.97 CAD (reinvested 0.0007 shares)
2. UNH (UnitedHealth) – $2.61 CAD (reinvested 0.0065 shares)
3. META (Meta Platforms) – $0.15 CAD (reinvested 0.0002 shares)
4. AEM (Agnico Eagle) – $2.47 CAD (reinvested 0.0086 shares)
5. NVDA (NVIDIA) – $0.07 CAD (reinvested 0.0003 shares)

Total received: $6.27 CAD
All reinvested: Yes
Additional shares acquired: 0.0163 shares total

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🏆 Top Positions of the Month

🟢 Best Performers of March

1. AEM (Agnico Eagle Mines) – +94.99% 🏆

Current Value: $1,142.86 CAD
Return: +94.99%
Change from February: +137% → +95% (-42%)

Agnico Eagle fell with gold in March. Gold pulled back from peak $5k+ to $4400-4500.

Despite decline from +137% to +95%, AEM remains best position of the year.

2. AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) – +109.72% 🥈

Current Value: $1,247.10 USD
Return: +109.72%
Change from February: +101% → +110% (+9%)

AMD recovered in March despite overall tech sector correction!

Strong demand for MI300X GPUs, contracts with Microsoft and Meta.

3. TSM (Taiwan Semiconductor) – +91.09% (RRSP) / +88.69% (TFSA) 🥉

RRSP: $1,039.57 USD (+91.09%)
TFSA: $346.76 USD (+88.69%)
Change from February: +107% → +91% (-16%)

TSMC pulled back with semiconductor sector, but remains at +91% from entry.

4. OLA (Orla Mining) – +74.91% 💎

Current Value: $895.57 CAD
Return: +74.91%
Change from February: +131% → +75% (-56%)

Orla Mining fell sharply with gold. Young gold miners more volatile than large ones.

5. CLS (Celestica) – +327.47% 🔥

Current Value: $3,924.20 CAD
Return: +327.47%
Change from February: +312% → +327% (+15%)

Celestica recovered in March! First growth in 4 months.

Q4 2025 earnings beat expectations, data center demand remains strong.

🔴 Biggest Losses of March

1. HOWL (Werewolf Therapeutics) – -60.19% 💔

Still worst position, but recovered slightly from February.

2. BBAI (BigBear.ai) – -58.02%

Continues falling. AI hype didn’t help.

3. GSY (GoEasy) – -75.08%

BIGGEST MISTAKE: Fell from +30% to -75% in one month (-45% drop!).

Reasons: Financial sector correction, recession fears, possible credit portfolio problems.

Considering sale.

4. INVZ (Innoviz Technologies) – -40.94%

LiDAR sector under pressure.

5. SPCB (SuperCom) – -38.45%

Microcap volatility continues.

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🎯 Key Positions Analysis

1. NVIDIA (NVDA) – AI King Under Pressure

February: -6.32%
March: -6.82%
Current Value: $1,061.10 USD

Continued slow decline, but fundamentals haven’t changed:

• Still absolute monopolist in AI chips
• Demand for H100/H200/Blackwell GPUs remains huge
• Q4 2025 earnings beat expectations

My decision: Holding and ready to add if drops to $150-160.

2. CoreWeave (CRVW) – Young Company Volatility

February: -1.34%
March: -1.05%
Current Value: $715.68 USD

Small recovery. Announced multi-year deal with Perplexity (+8% on news).

My decision: Holding. Long-term bet on AI infrastructure.

3. SentinelOne (S) – Cybersecurity Continues Falling

February: -9.10%
March: -8.27%
Current Value: $492.47 USD

Slight improvement but still negative.

My decision: Holding. 3-5 year bet. Short-term volatility doesn’t change thesis.

4. Amazon (AMZN) – Practically Unchanged

February: -0.87%
March: -0.01%
Current Value: $633.16 USD

Amazon held up during March correction. Practically unchanged: -0.01%.

This is a defensive tech stock – holds better than most during corrections.

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💡 March Lessons

What Worked ✅

1. Selling VG at peak (+68%)

Perfect timing. Even if VG continues rising, no regrets. +68% is fantastic.

Lesson: Don’t aim for absolute maximum. Lock in profits when they’re there.

2. Diversification saved from worse

Portfolio lost only -3.02% while:

• S&P 500: -7%
• Nasdaq: >-10% (correction)
• Dow: >-10% (correction)

Gold (AEM, OLA) and defensive assets smoothed the blow.

3. Emotional resilience during volatility

March was high volatility month:

• Markets fell and recovered 2-3% per day
• News changed hourly
• Panic was real

I didn’t sell anything in panic. Instead:

• Sold VG according to plan (at peak)
• Bought FITB, ETN, SOFI on dips

What Can Be Improved 📚

1. GSY – Biggest Mistake

GoEasy fell from +30% to -75%. Drop of -105% from peak.

What went wrong:

• Didn’t lock profit at +30%
• Didn’t sell at first drop to 0%
• Didn’t sell at -20-30%

Lesson: When position falls from profit to loss, need to reassess thesis.

Plan: Considering sale in April.

2. Too many losing positions

HOWL (-60%), BBAI (-58%), SPCB (-38%), INVZ (-41%) – this is ballast.

These positions occupy ~$260 USD of capital that could work in NVIDIA, Amazon, or gold.

Plan: Hope for recovery. May sell some.

3. XRP and QS continue falling

• XRP: -24% (Feb) → -24% (Mar) – no change
• QS: -26% (Feb) → -30% (Mar) – worse

Lottery tickets not working yet.

Plan: Give 3 more months. If in six months still at -30-40%, admit mistake and exit.

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📝 April 2026 Plans

1. Monitor Earnings Season

April = Q1 2026 earnings season.

What to track:

• 📊 NVIDIA earnings – most important report
• 📊 AMD, TSM – semiconductor trends
• 📊 Amazon – AWS growth
• 📊 Celestica – data center demand continuing?
• 📊 CoreWeave – revenue growth

2. Sell Weak Positions

Sale plan:

• ❌ GSY (-75%) – sell on recovery
• ❌ HOWL (-60%) – very small share, will wait for recovery
• ❌ BBAI (-58%) – hope for recovery, small share without much impact
• ❌ SPCB (-38%) – consider sale

Freed capital (~$300-400 USD):

• ✅ Maybe add NVIDIA (at $150-160)
• ✅ Maybe add Amazon (1 share)
• ✅ Maybe add TSM (on dips)

3. Monitor Geopolitics

Key questions:

• Will Iran war end?
• Will Strait of Hormuz reopen?
• What happens with oil?

4. Continue Portfolio Cleanup

Goal: Reduce from 28 to 20-22 positions.

Get rid of weakest, concentrate on quality.

5. No Major Changes

If opportunity arises – will buy something, but no major changes planned.

April is a month of observation and patience, not aggressive actions.

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🎯 March Conclusions

March 2026 was a month of correction and volatility. Iran war dragged on, markets fell into correction, oil shot up.

Result: -3.02% – better than S&P 500 (-7%) and Nasdaq (-10%+).

Key Conclusions:

1. Selling VG at peak (+68%) – perfect decision
   Sometimes better to lock in good profit than wait for absolute maximum.
2. Diversification saves
   Gold and defensive assets smoothed tech correction blow.
3. Emotional resilience important
   Panic creates mistakes. Patience creates opportunities.
4. GSY – biggest mistake of year
   Fall from +30% to -75% = lesson about importance of profit-taking.
5. Lottery tickets (XRP, QS) – not working yet
   Must be ready for speculations not to work out.
6. Markets unpredictable
   Iran war could last months or end tomorrow. Must be ready for both scenarios.

Ahead – April.

Markets volatile, but long-term thesis unchanged:
Technology, AI, semiconductors, gold – these are megatrends of next 10 years.

And I’m staying in the game. 💪🚀

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📌 Key Portfolio Metrics

Metric	Value
Total Value	$19,956.88 CAD
Monthly Return	-3.02%
YTD 2026	-1.95%
ROI Since Start	+39.02%
Invested	$14,355 CAD
Profit	+$5,601.88 CAD
Number of Positions	28
Dividends Received	$6.27 CAD

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Next Report: April 2026 📊

See you in a month! 👋

Read in Ukrainian > Інвестиційний звіт за березень 2026: Іранський шторм та корекція ринків

– Previous report: February 2026

– Previous report: January 2026